1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a portable terminal such as a mobile telephone or personal digital assistant (PDA) and, more particularly, to a folding-type portable terminal which pivotally connects first and second housings via a hinge mechanism.
2. Description of the Related Art
The mainstream of portable terminals typified by mobile telephones is a so-called folding type mobile telephone obtained by connecting first and second housings via a hinge mechanism. Also, in this type of terminal, not only a terminal with its housings being open and closed from 0° to 180° but also that with a display being facing outside in a state wherein housings overlap each other via a hinge mechanism which is articulated or pivoted 360° have been developed. This type of terminal is described in Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 2002-141984.
Also, a portable terminal which includes a built-in television tuner to have a function of displaying received television video data on a display, and a portable terminal which has a function of playing back recorded data or video content stored in a recording medium such as a memory card or a hard disk have been developed. This type of apparatus allows the user to view a television program and playback the video content while mobile communication is off. Hence, the range of applications for the portable terminal increases.
However, the conventional portable terminal having the above television reception function and the video content playback function generally has a mobile communication function serving as a main function, and the television reception function and the video content playback function serving as sub-functions. Hence, when the television reception function and the video content playback function are to be performed, the user must select these function menus on a menu window by a key operation, and this operation is very cumbersome.